Lesya Ukrainka

We can’t overvalue the role of Lesya Ukrainka in Ukrainian literature, who together with Ivan Franko and Taras Shevchenko are considered luminaries of it.

She was born on February 25,1871 in Novgorod-Volynsky in the family of educated people. Lesya’s father was a lawyer,but he was pretty well aware of literature and her mother was a Ukrainian writer, known as Olena Pchilka.There were six children in the Kossaches’ family.One of her sisters was married to M.Drahomanov, a scientist and public figure, who played a significant role in Lesya’s life.

Apart from Drahomanov, a lot of other outstanding people gathered in their family.Among them were the composer Lysenko, the playwright M.Staritsky and the poet I.Franko. Lesya was growing up under the influence of such distinguished public.These cultural figures contributed much to her becoming a poet.

Lesya was a very apt child: at the age of four she learned to read, at nine she wrote her first poem “ Hope”, at 13 – her first poem was published in Lviv magazine “ Zorya”(“ Lily of the Valley”).

As we know, all her works were written under the pen-name Lesya Ukrainka,but her real name was Larisa Kosach.

Though she had a marked inclination for studying, Lesya obtained education at home because of poor health.Her first steps in writing coincided with the first symptoms of disease she suffered from- tuberculosis of bones.For this reason, Lesya Ukrainka visited Vienna,Crimea,Georgia,Italy,

,Egypt in order to be treated.

In 1883 she was undergone the operation.At that time she was plunged in reading, studying literature,art,geography as well as foreign languages.

Due to her books of verse “On Wings of Songs”, “Responses”, “Thoughts and dreams”, Lesya Ukrainka became one of the leading poets of the 19^th century.Alongside with writing poems, she turned to playwriting. When at school we admired reading her “Forest Song” and “ Stone Host”.

Taking into account the fact that Lesya had a good command of at least 5 foreign languages, she wrote both poetry and prose in these languages.

She was fond of the revolutionary ideas of Shevchenko’s poems and continued developing them in her poetry.Lesya Ukrainka wanted to express in bright images the idea and main tendencies of her time.

The illness progressed, she spent most of her time in hospitals and on August 1,1913 Lesya Ukrainka died.But she will stay immortal in the hearts of the Ukrainian people, the belonging to whom she showed in her works.

Unfamiliar words:

to overvalue- переоцінювати

luminary- корифей

to aware –знати, бути обізнаним

public figure-громадський діяч

significant- важливий, значущий

playwright- драматург

to contribute- сприяти

apt-здібний

marked inclination- помітна схильність

to obtain-отримувати

to coincide-співпадати

to undergo- зазнавати

to be plunged- занурюватися

playwriting- драматургія

immortal-безсмертний, невмирущий

Answer the following questions:

1. Where and when was Lesya Ukrainka born?

2. What did her parents do?

3. Who influenced her formation as a poet?

4. She wrote her first poem at the age of 5, didn’t she?

5. What is the title of her first published poem?

6. Why didn’t Lesya go to school?

7. What disease did she suffer from? Was it curable or not?

8. Where did Lesya travel when she was ill?

9. Did the operation help her to get rid of the illness?

10. What are Ukrainka’s most known books of verse?

11. Did she write any plays?

12. Who was an example for her to follow in poetry?

13. When did Lesya Ukrainka die?

14. Do you agree to the thought that Lesya Ukrainka and Charlotte Bronte have much in co

Exercise №1. Translate the next sentences into English:

1. Леся Українка народилася в сім”ї освічених людей.

2. На становлення Лесі Українки як поетеси вплинуло багато відомих людей того часу та середовище, в якому вона росла.

3. Значну роль в її житті відіграв Драгоманов.

4. Леся була надзвичайно обдарованою дитиною та не ходила до школи через хворобу та відсутність викладання українською мовою.

5. Справжнє ім”я Лесі Українки- Лариса Косач.

6. Дівчина писала твори під псевдонімом Леся Українка,щоб показати свою приналежність до українського народу.

7. Першим віршем, якого Леся написала в 9 років був вірш „ Надія”.

8. Вірш „Конвалія” був надрукований в львівській газеті „Зоря”, коли Лесі було тільки 13 років.

9. Через свою хворобу Леся побувала в багатьох місцях: в Криму, Грузії,Італії,Австрії.

10. Леся Українка займалася не тільки поезією, а й драматургією.

11. Її „ Лісову пісню” знають всі.

12. Леся Українка була багатогранною особистістю-писала літературні твори, займалася музикою, була поліглотом.

Exercise №2. Put questions to the following sentences:

1.Drahomanov, Staritsky,Lysenko,Franko contributed a lot to Ukrainka’s formation as a poet.

2.Her most popular books of verse are “ Thoughts and dreams”, “ On wings of songs”, “ Responses”.

3.Lesya suffered from an incurable disease- tuberculosis of bones.

4.She knew Spanish,Enlish,German,Italian,French and wrote literary works

in these languages.

5.In many of her verses she went on describing the revolutionary ideas of Shevchenko.

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